Toy



March 29, 1938. A. H. TURNER TOY Filed Sept. 25, 1955 INVEN'OH Hlfred Il. Turner Patented Mal. 29, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT ori-ics 3 Claims.

This invention relates to toys, and -more particularly to a toy which will serve not only as a teething device but which will appeal to a childs senses of sight and hearing as well.

It is a well recognized fact that of all the human senses,` those of sight and hearing are the first to which an infant responds. As the infant grows, these senses become more acute, and even the child of school age is attracted to things much more frequently through these two' senses than through any other. Therefore, such toys and other articles with which the child comes in contact as appeal to him through the senses of sight and hearing are bound to compel his interest.

It is also well known that infants vhave a tendency to place things in their mouths and bite on them, particularly those who are teething. The value of teething devices, such as teething rings, has long been recognized, and various devices of this sort have previously been provided, some even with bells or similar noise making devices to attract the child through his sense of hearing. However, so far as I am aware, none of these devices combine, in a single unit, means which will also appeal to a childs sense of sight.

The primary object of my invention is to provide an improved toy which will be appealing and useful not only to infants, but to children of early school age as Well.

More specifically, it is an object of my invention to provide an improved toy which will be useful as a teething device and which will, at the same time, also serve as a mirror and, if desired, a sound producer.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel teething device, mirror and sound producer which will be durable in construction and free from the danger of breakage and-the attendant possibility of injury to the child.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved toy of the character set forth which is inexpensive of manufacture and which is pleasing in appearance.

In accordance with one form of my invention, I provide a frame member of a material suitable for a teething child to bite on, and mount within the frame member an unbreakable light reflector, such as a mirror. formed of nickel or chromium plated metal. For the teething infant, the frame member serves as a teething device, while the mirror serves, by reflectionv of light or by reflection of his own image, to attract his eye. According to another' form of my invention, I mount two such mirrors or reflectors in the frame member, spacing them apart slightly to accommodate one or more striker members therebetween. This provides a sound producer in addition to a mirror and a teething device, and serves further to attract the childs attention through the medium of his ear. In either case, a suitable handle may be provided, if desired, by means of which the toy may be grasped. For older children, as, for example, little girls old enough to appreciate a hand bag, a mirror formed according to my invention serves as a useful adjunct to the hand bag and its usefulness is enhanced by the fact that neither the frame member nor the mirror is breakable, the unbreakable reflector being particularly advantageous in that it eliminates possibility of injury to the child as in the case of a broken glass mirror.

The novel features that I consider characteristic of my invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description of two embodiments thereof, when read in connection with the accompanying drawing in which- Figure 1 is a sectional view of one form of my invention taken on the line I-I of Figure 2,

Figure 2 is a plan view thereof,

Figure 3 is a sectional view of another form of my invention taken on the line III- III of Figure 4, and

Figure 4 is a plan my invention.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout, I have shown, in Figures 1 and 2, a frame member or ring l formed of rubber, gutta-percha, celluloid, ivory, synthetic resin, or any other similar material which will render the frame member suitable for use as a teething ring by teething infants. Preferably, I form the ring I of molded rubber'and provide it with a groove 3 in which an unbreakable mirror 5 is removably fitted. The mirror 5 may be made, for example, of any suitable metal which has a high lustre, such as nickel, chromium, cadmium, aluminum, stainless steel, or the like, lor it may be made of a base metal both surfaces of which are coated with any of the foregoing metals, so that each surface will reflect light. The frame member I may be provided with an integral handle 1 by means of which it may be easily held, and, if desired, it may be molded onto the peripheral portion of the disc-like, plane mirror 5. In any event, the frame member l is made considerably thicker than the light reflector 5 so 30 view of the latter form of this modification is formed to receive a pair of adjacent light reilectors 5 which have their peripheral portions Ba in contacting relation and their central portions 5b ciset outwardly with respect to the plane of contact of the peripheral portions 5a, whereby to provide a space 9 between the central portions 5b. Within the space 9, one-or more metallic or other suitable striker devices. such as the ball II shown in the drawing, may be provided. This serves to produce a sound when the child shakes the toy and further attracts his attention. As in the case of the modiilcation of Figures 1 and 2, the ring I of Figures 3 and 4 may be molded around the peripheral portions 5a. Also, the thickness or diameter of the ring I should be substantially greater than the overall thickness of the reflectors 5 and the space 9, so that the infant will encounter no diillculty in biting the ring I. Furthermore, if desired, the mirrors 5 of Figures 3 and 4 may have their portions 5b convex outwardly to form an enlarged image, or they may be formed of any other suitable conilguratlon.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that I have provided a novel toy that is useful for older children as well as for infants. Both the teething ring I and the mirror 5 are made of unbreakable material so that there is no danger of breakage and injury to the child. A toy formed according to the modification of Figures l and 2 but without the handle 1 may serve as a very useful and ornamental appurtenance to a girls hand bag, since it provides a safe, lasting mirror, and, in fact, will probably be found to be useful even for adults in certain cases.

Although I have shown and described certain embodiments .of my invention, I am fully aware that many modifications thereof are possible. For example, in the form shown in Figures 3 and 4, two adjacent grooves may be formed in the ring I and a plane mirror 5 iltted into each of said grooves, the spacing of the grooves providing the space 9. Many other modiilcations will, no doubt, readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. I desire, therefore, that my invention shall only be limited by the prior art and by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A toy comprising a pair oi' unbreakable, metallic mirrors having contacting peripheral portions, said mirrors having their central portions ioifset outwardly with respect to the plane of contact oi' said peripheral portions whereby to provide a space between said central portions, a frame member suitable for use as a teething device molded around said peripheral portions whereby said mirrors are maintained in contacting relation, said peripheral portions lying along substantially the central plane o! said frame member and said frame member having a thickness substantially greater than the overall thickness of said reflectors and the space therebetween, and one or more striker devices in said space for producing a sound by striking against said reflectors when the toy is shaken.

2. A toy comprising `a plane metallic mirror adapted to reflect light from both its surfaces, and a frame member encasing the periphery of said mirror, said frame member constituting the sole support for said mirror and being of a character suitable for use as a teething device for infants, said frame member also being considerably thicker than said mirror and said mirror lying along substantially the central plane of said frame member whereby said frame member may be bitten without danger of biting said mirror.

3. A toy comprising an unbreakable, plane, metallic mirror adapted to reflect light from both its surfaces, and a rubber frame member encasing the peripheral portion of said mirror, said frame member constituting the sole support for said mirror and said rubber being of a character suitable for use as a teething ring for infants, said frame member also being considerably thicker than said mirror and said mirror lying along substantially the central plane of -said frame member whereby said frame member may be bitten without danger of biting said mirror.

ALFRED H. TURNER. 

